


Pastries, Avoidance Tactics, and a Bottle of Scotch

by pocky_slash



Series: Club Wales [3]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Arguing, F/M, Friendship, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-27
Updated: 2011-03-27
Packaged: 2017-11-04 12:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/393670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocky_slash/pseuds/pocky_slash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Gwen said something she regrets, Ianto makes a poor dinner choice, Rhys offers sound advice, and Jack has a key. A different sort of "Meat" post-ep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pastries, Avoidance Tactics, and a Bottle of Scotch

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the [Club Wales](http://pocky-slash.livejournal.com/1381103.html) verse, but you don't have to read that story to understand this one, I don't think. So many thanks to the super speedy and lovely [](http://such-heights.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://such-heights.livejournal.com/)**such_heights** for the quick beta.

Gwen's full to bursting with joy when they get back to the flat, a joy that is reflected on Rhys' face every time he looks at her. She's carrying a bag full of takeaway in one hand and has his good hand grasped firmly in her other. It's like a veil has been lifted; everything is bright and vibrant because she doesn't have to _hide_ anymore. Rhys will understand, now, when she's late and hurt and angry at the world. She'll be able to confide in him. They'll be able to go into their marriage with no secrets, no lies, and for the first time since he slipped that ring on her finger, she feels like she's not lying when she says she's balancing the two sides of her life.

She ushers Rhys into a chair and starts pulling down dishes and emptying the takeaway containers. She pulls out a bottle of wine and pours two glasses, grinning at Rhys as she does so. He grins right back.

He has dozens of questions over dinner, which she tries to answer without laughing too hard. She knows it wasn't long ago that all of this was new to her as well, that she was the one going comically wide-eyed at the description of different races and objects from different times.

They're sitting on the sofa with the last of the wine as the conversation winds down. There's less over-the-top laughter, fewer ridiculous stories.

"So, is it Tosh, then?" Rhys asks. At Gwen's searching look, he adds, "Your best mate from work. The one you're always going out with when Banana and Daf and I are at the pub on Thursdays."

Gwen laughs, shaking her head, though the twinge of guilt that always pops up when she thinks of Tosh's loneliness makes itself known.

"No, no," she says. "That's Ianto."

Rhys' comically wide eyes make a return appearance.

"The bloke in the suit?" he asks. "That's your best mate from work?"

"Yes!" she says a bit defensively, smacking Rhys' arm. It's been months since she and Ianto fell into this, but it still catches her off guard when the others bring it up, not least of all because Jack seems to be leery of the whole thing. Leave Jack Harkness to be jealous of any of them spending time with each other when they could be spending time with him. "He's lovely, Rhys. Jack buggered off for a few months at the beginning of the year and the two of us were left to sort it all out. It was hard and we only had each other."

"What about Tosh and... the Londoner. The doctor. Owen?"

"Owen, yeah," Gwen says, trying not to tense at Owen's name on Rhys' lips, a dark, mocking reminder of the time when Gwen's release wasn't getting pissed with Ianto, but rather getting naked with Owen. She shivers and cuddles close against Rhys' side, resting her head on his shoulder. "Jack meant something different to Tosh and Owen than he did to Ianto and me," she says. "He means something different to all of us, but Ianto and I... I suppose we felt it in similar ways."

"I don't have to worry him trying to get a leg over on my woman, do I?" Rhys says, tickling her with his good hand hand, grinning as she laughs and jumps away, careful of what's left of her wine.

"Rhys!" Gwen shouts, laughing. "Don't worry. I love him madly, but he's like a little brother. Even that aside, he's only got eyes for Jack...."

She trails off as a memory surges to the front of her mind, unbidden. Jack standing in the doorway to his office, angry at her, glaring as she dressed him down for not understanding her feelings for Rhys, and Ianto standing right behind him with a carefully blank mask on his face....

"Gwen? Hello?"

Gwen shakes her head and looks over at Rhys. "I'm sorry, love, what was that?"

"I asked if he was gay," Rhys says. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," Gwen says slowly. "No, I just... I think I may have said something stupid before I left work."

"Something important?" Rhys asks. She shakes her head.

"No, I'm sure it's... it will be fine." She forces a smile and puts her wine glass down. "Why don't we watch a film before bed, yeah? It feels like it's been an age since we had an early night like this."

"Okay," Rhys says, though it's clear he doesn't quite buy her breezy attitude. "Nothing scifi though."

"No!" Gwen says with a laugh. "No, nothing like that. Pick something out of the cabinet. I just..." She glances at her mobile, still sitting on the table near the door where she left it. "I have to make a quick call. I'll be right back."

Before Rhys knew, before _today_ , Gwen would make her Torchwood calls in the hallway or in the bathroom in a quiet voice. She doesn't need to hide the specifics of her job now, but she knows that privacy is what Ianto craves more than anything, save maybe affection. She wanders back near the door as she hears Rhys puttering about and dials Ianto's number. She's probably overreacting. This is probably a product of the guilt she still feels over disobeying Jack's orders.

The phone rings to voicemail.

She tries again, but the result in the same, and when she re-enters the den, she's frowning.

"Alright, love?" Rhys asks as she drops down onto the sofa next to him.

"Fine," she says quickly. "It's fine."

Rhys picks a comedy and she makes an effort to laugh at the jokes, but she keeps glancing across the room at her mobile. She excuses herself about halfway through the movie and tries the call again, then tries the line for Ianto's flat. Both ring through. By the end of the film, she can't deny that there's something wrong, something that's her fault. Ianto never ignores his phone and if the world was ending, she's sure she would have gotten a call.

She leaves Rhys to get ready for bed and tries Ianto one last time.

On the fourth ring, she hears the distinctive click of connection.

"--put it down, Jack!"

"The ringing is driving me crazy, just let me--Hello!"

"Um, hello," Gwen says to Jack. She resists the urge to make sure she's dialed the right number. She knows she did. "Hi, Jack, I was just trying to find Ianto. Is he there?"

There's a scuffling on the other end of the line.

"I'm getting a look that's making me think I should tell you that I haven't seen him," Jack says. There's a wry undertone to his voice. Ianto calls it his, 'You People Are So Quaint' tone. "And now I'm getting a look that's making me think I'm in trouble for letting you know he's here, even though I'm obviously on his phone. I think it's the bad kind of trouble."

She hears Ianto hiss, " _Jack!_ " and her throat is suddenly dry. Shit. Ianto is avoiding her.

"I just... I just want to talk to him, Jack, I think, maybe, what I said earlier... I wasn't trying to hurt him."

"I know," Jack says, "but you did." Gwen sucks a breath in through her teeth. "I've got to go, Gwen. I'll see you in the morning."

Jack disconnects before she can even say goodbye.

"Shit," she whispers, lowering the phone slowly to her side. She hadn't meant to hurt Ianto; she hadn't thought. She had been so bloody mad at Jack, at all of them, really, and their inability to understand what it's like living in this all-encompassing lie. She loves Rhys, needs him, he keeps her sane, and her heart broke over and over again with every bit of deception. She didn't mean that they didn't understand love; she didn't mean to belittle what Jack and Ianto have been trying to forge since Jack's return. She just wanted them to understand that it's easy to get by on secrecy when all your friends and lovers are in on the secret. It bloody hurts when they're not.

It's no use now, though. If Ianto's angry, then Tosh is devastated and Owen is aggravated. Jack, bloody Jack and his rules and possessiveness, is the only one who's sleeping easy tonight, because this always rolls off Jack like water. Jack gets angry and seethes and broods and then, two hours later, it's like nothing happened. It's infuriating, but it will probably end up her saving grace, because she doesn't think the others will be speaking to her in the morning.

"Are you sure everything's okay, Gwen?" Rhys asks when she wanders into the bedroom, unbuckling her belt and kicking off her shoes.

She's about to tell him it's fine, and then remembers this is a new era of their relationship. There don't need to be secrets.

"No," she says quietly. "I... I said something to Jack. To everyone, really, about you and about... having someone outside of Torchwood. I didn't mean--I was trying to make a point, but I think Ianto took it the wrong way. He's not picking up his phone, and Jack says he's upset."

She sits down on the bed and Rhys rubs her back. "It's okay, love," he says. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Friends fight, and if likes you as much as you say, I'm sure he'll forgive you." He kisses her cheek. "How could he not, eh?"

Gwen smiles at him and lets him help her out of her clothes and kiss her senseless, pushing Ianto out of her mind for the time being.

***

In the morning, Gwen stops at the cafe that Ianto likes and picks up three of his favorite pastries and a handful of things for everyone else. She hesitates at the door to the tourist office and is almost relieved when Owen bursts through it, nearly knocking her over.

"Is that breakfast? Excellent," he says. "Ianto's in a snit. He fucked off down to the archives and Jack told me to go get some food if I wanted to make myself useful. Not that I did want to make myself useful, but you know how he gets when Teaboy's knickers are in a wad."

"He hates it when you call him that," Gwen says, elbowing past Owen and making her way into the Tourist Office, pausing to smack the button for the hidden door.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with everyone today?" Owen calls after her. She hears his trainers smacking the concrete as he rushes to follow her down to the Hub before the hidden door swings shut. "You should be all bloody rainbows and kittens now that you don't have to lie to Lover Boy anymore. Tosh won't talk to anyone, Ianto's bitchier than usual, and now you're sulking. Are your cycles syncing up or something?"

"Stuff it, Owen," she says and pushes her swipe card through the lock to the lift more violently than strictly necessary. Owen rolls his eyes and steps back from the lift, raising his hands defensively as the doors close between them, leaving Owen standing in the empty hallway. Gwen makes a rude gesture, even though the door is long closed and the lift is already moving, but it's halfhearted. This is her fault, after all, her storm cloud that's settled over Torchwood Three.

She forces a cheery smile on her face as the cog door rolls back, but it's gone by the time she's standing in the Hub proper. She hasn't even seen anyone yet, but the chilly atmosphere is apparent anyway. She takes the box of pastries up the board room, unsure of who she'll find and whether she wants to find anyone.

Tosh is sitting at the table alone, leaning over a laptop with an alien artifact on the table next to her.

"I brought some pastries," Gwen says, putting the box on the table and forcing a smile. She opens the box and extracts a chocolate danish, which she knows is Tosh's pastry of choice. She places it on a napkin and slides it over to her before taking a seat and pulling at a croissant.

"Thank you," Tosh says when she notices the danish. She offers Gwen a smile that's nearly as forced as Gwen's own, and then looks back at her laptop and resumes typing.

Gwen chews a bit of her croissant and looks out at the rest of the Hub. She checks her watch, checks her mobile, and waits a solid two minutes before tentatively saying, "So... have you seen Ianto?"

Patience has never been her strong suit.

Tosh sighs softly and turns back to her. "There's probably a reason he's avoiding you," she says. Her words are cold and Gwen can't help but flinch even though she knows she deserves it.

"Tosh," she says softly, unable to meet Tosh's eyes, "I couldn't keep lying. And I know I wasn't--I wasn't thinking when I said the things I said. It came out all wrong. I didn't mean--I wasn't trying to hurt you, I was trying to make Jack _understand_...."

When she looks up again, Tosh is still frowning, but a flicker of sympathy crosses her face.

"Jack can be a bit harsh," Tosh allows slowly. "And I suppose I understand, wanting Rhys to know, but... it's a gift, Gwen. Having Rhys, I mean. And just because we're all single doesn't mean we don't understand how you feel. Jack may have deserved it, but Owen and Ianto and I didn't. It's not our fault we don't have anyone to go home to."

"I know," she says. "And I'm sorry, Tosh, really. Jack just... he does something to me, and it just makes me so angry sometimes. He's always on me to keep my life outside of Torchwood, but then he goes and does something like this, like he's purposely trying to get in the way. I thought now, especially, he'd understand, but I guess it's different."

"What," Tosh asks, "since you got engaged?"

Gwen opens her mouth, an interjection about Jack and Ianto on her tongue, but she... stops. Because they've never talked about it. She knows about Jack and Ianto because she knows Ianto inside and out. She's never heard the rest of the team mention anything, though. No taunts from Owen, no dewy looks from Tosh, and both Jack and Ianto are more circumspect than she would have ever expected.

She closes her mouth.

"Yeah," she says instead. "Yeah. I mean, if I'm to be married to Rhys... everything will change."

Tosh nods slowly and offers Gwen another weak smile. It's genuine, though, and Gwen appreciates that.

"Ianto was upset this morning," Tosh admits. "He's down in the archives. I know you two are close. I don't know if he wants to see you, but if you're looking for him...."

Gwen nods and reaches across the table to squeeze Tosh's hand.

"Thank you," she says. "And I'm sorry, I really am, Tosh. I was just so mad at Jack... I didn't mean for the rest of you to get pulled into it."

"I think we've all been that mad at Jack before," Tosh admits, though Gwen can't remember a time from her tenure at Torchwood when Tosh had openly defied their leader. "He can be a bit of a prat when he sets his mind to something. I understand."

"That's one way of putting it," Gwen murmurs. Tosh laughs quietly and turns back to her laptop, and Gwen steels herself, gathering her determination and placing some of Ianto's favorite pastries onto a plate. When she walks back into the Hub proper, Owen is lounging about his desk, clicking idly on his computer. His eyes light up when he sees the pastries, but Gwen shields them with a protective arm.

"They're for Ianto," she says. "There's more upstairs."

"He'd just going to get fat if he eats all of them," Owen mutters as he theatrically pushes himself to his feet. "Then Jack's eye will start to wander and Jones'll be this fucking bitchy all of the time."

Gwen ignores him and stalks off towards the archives, trying to focus on her determination to apologize and not the sinking feeling settling in her stomach. Her footsteps echo against the dank corridors. The louder they get, the faster she walks, as if she can outrun her own guilt. When she finally reaches the sublevel the archives are on, however, she slows. She hears voices at the end of the hall.

"--come upstairs, please?"

Jack.

"No." And that's Ianto. "I am trying to get some work done, _sir_. If you recall correctly, this is my actual job. Not making coffee, not running errands for the team, not catering to your every whim, but _this_. Archiving. Attempting to keep this bloody cesspool running efficiently."

"Ianto, she didn't--"

"I do believe there's a backlog of paperwork on your desk."

Gwen takes a deep breath and walks purposefully into the archives, trying to look as if she hasn't been eavesdropping. She smiles brightly, falsely, and cocks her head, holding out the plate.

"Good morning, boys!" she says. It sounds hollow even to her own ears. "I've brought breakfast."

She doesn't miss the flicker of--something, something dark and empty and sad and _hurt_ that flashes in Ianto's eyes when he sees her.

"On second thought, I'll collect that paperwork myself," Ianto says, looking away from Gwen, away from Jack, and steering himself out of the room without acknowledging either of them. Gwen watches his retreating back and listens to his footsteps until they're quiet and faded, indistinguishable from the sound of the pipes. There's something thick and wet in her throat and she can feel Jack's eyes on her.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him," she manages to say. "Not him or Tosh or Owen."

"I know," Jack says. "You were trying to hurt me."

"Jack..." She turns slowly, expecting to see Jack glaring at her, or maybe smirking, triumphant in the fact that he's won, he's managed to come out unscathed, as usual.

He's not smirking, or even glaring. He's sad and pensive. He looks the way she feels.

"Fix this, Gwen," he says. He pauses and looks away, shoving his hands in his pockets in a rare display of uncertainty, or maybe vulnerability. "You're not the only one who can't stand to see him like this."

"I want to," she whispers. "Jack, he's... Ianto, he's my best friend." Once she says it, she realizes that it's true. That more than Trina and Megan, more than Andy and Sarah from the police and anyone, really, anyone but Rhys, Ianto is the person she trusts the most. The person she relies on the most. The person she needs in her life. She doesn't know when it happened, but some days, it feels like he's all she has. She can't lose him.

"I know," Jack says. "But he's hurt and angry and shutting down and twenty-four years old. It's on you, Gwen."

Jack stares at her. It's unnerving and she feels her cheeks heat up in shame, but he's not wrong. When she meets his eyes, he nods at her and then leaves the Archives, following in Ianto's footsteps.

***

Ianto avoids her for the rest of the day. No, that's not right. Ianto avoids _everyone_ for the rest of the day. Coffee magically appears at their elbows. Lunch is served precisely at 12:30. When they come back from a routine weevil retrieval, the SUV is clean and restocked by the time they wrestle the weevil into the cells. Each time, they see little more than a shadow and a flurry of movement. Ianto has reverted to being invisible.

Gwen hates how adept he is at it.

It's only seven when Jack sends everyone home. Owen is off like a shot, muttering under his breath about PMS and shirty butlers. Tosh lingers, obliviously working on a program, even as Jack encourages her to go have a life. Gwen has nothing to legitimately distract her, so she straightens the piles of mess on her desk and stares at the hallway that leads to the archives.

"He's gone."

Gwen shrieks loudly enough to startle Tosh from her programming coma. When Gwen turns around, Jack looks only slightly smug.

"Do the two of you practice stealth maneuvers in the bloody bedroom?" she hisses. Jack's eyes flick to Tosh, but she's already focused on her computer once again. Satisfied, Jack smirks.

"Possibly," he says. "You could always come see for yourself." He leers, but it's not up to standard.

"No thank you," she says. Then, after a beat, "When did he leave? I didn't see him. I've been watching."

"He used the tunnel to the carpark, the one in my quarters," Jack says. "It was about twenty minutes ago. He said he was going home and that I wasn't welcome, but I have a feeling that'll probably change once he gets a few drinks in him." He tries to smile lewdly, but the concern in his expression isn't hidden as well as he probably thinks it is. She doesn't know why he even bothers with pretense, except that he's Jack and he'll always choose being mysterious or licentious over a frank admission of emotion. She can tell he's been trying harder since his return from wherever he was with his doctor, but he's still vague when it comes to Ianto. She wonders if he's simply following Ianto's lead.

"Maybe I should...." Gwen starts to say, but she doesn't know how to finish that sentence. 'Go over,' is her natural response, but she doesn't know what she'd do once she was there, if he even let her in. What she needs is someone to talk to, but Ianto is the person she talks to, now. When she can't talk to Rhys, she talks to--

She feels like a fool when the realization hits her. She wants to smack her forehead, it's so obvious. She can, for the first time since Torchwood came into her life, actually talk to Rhys about her problems.

She grabs her coat and purse, heading towards the roll door without looking back.

"Gwen?" Jack calls after her.

"I'm going to fix this," she says.

***

When Gwen gets to her flat, Rhys is already home. There's a pizza on the table and rugby on the telly.

"Good day catching aliens?" Rhys asks, and Gwen drops next to him on the sofa with a soft noise that might be a whimper. "Daf and Banana are coming by a bit later. Don't worry--I can keep mum, but I thought I'd warn you."

"No, I trust you," Gwen says. "That's fine. I--Rhys."

His attention breaks from the television and focuses on her, all concern and trust and understanding, and it's almost too much. "I need... I need some advice. I did something stupid and I don't..." She trails off, embarrassed by the lump forming in her throat.

"What's wrong, love?" Rhys asks.

"It's Ianto," she says. "Yesterday... Jack and I had words in front of the team. Words about you. About how hard it was with you not knowing about Torchwood. None of them--they don't have relationships on the outside. It's so bloody insular and they don't understand the lying, the excuses, how difficult it is! But I didn't--I botched it up. I was so mad I... I wasn't clear and I think Ianto thought--he and Jack, it's new. They were shagging before, but this is dating and it's different and he won't admit it, but it means something to him. To Ianto. I think he thinks I was dismissing it."

Rhys puts his arm around her shoulders and she leans against him, sniffling and feeling ridiculous.

"This lad means a lot to you, doesn't he?" Rhys asks. Gwen nods against his shoulder.

"It's really... There are only the five of us. And I'm new and I guess... I didn't make an effort, really. To be close to anyone. It was so hard, spending so much time there and juggling this normal life--they weren't really a 'going out for a pint after work' crowd, and... well, I stopped making an effort. If I needed to talk to someone, I talked to Jack, and then Jack buggered off. We ended up in charge, really and it was just... I don't know when it happened. But somewhere along the line, he became... so important."

Rhys nods and kisses the top of her head, carding his fingers through her hair. "Maybe you should be telling him this," he says. "Not just that you buggered up and you're sorry, but that you need him. People like to feel needed."

"He doesn't want to listen," Gwen says. "He doesn't even want to see me."

"And since when has that stopped Gwen bloody Cooper?" Rhys asked. "You're the most stubborn woman I've ever met. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with you. Go over to his place and keep knocking 'til he lets you in."

Gwen could, in fact, go over to his place and let herself in with the key he gave her months ago, but she decides to save that for a back-up plan. There was a certain level of trust given along with that key, and she’s done enough damage to their relationship without breaking that as well.

"I don't know," Gwen says. "I don't want to make things worse."

"How else is he going to know?" Rhys asks. "Not that you're sorry, but _why_ you're sorry. If you keep talking, he'll have no choice but to listen."

Gwen laughs, softly. "Rhys the Rant," she says affectionately. But what he's saying is true--what he's saying is the sort of thing that would spring first to her mind under other circumstances. Start talking and don't stop until someone listens--she's self-aware enough to sheepishly admit that it tends to be her standard operating procedure. But Ianto is so quiet and this thing between them has been so private that the thought never occurred to her.

"You're right," she admits.

"'Course I am," Rhys says. "You want some pizza before you go?"

"No," she says, "but thank you. I think I'll pick up a curry from the place by his flat that he likes."

"Ah," Rhys says, "the other old standard. Apology by food."

"Learned that one from you," Gwen says, sitting up and tapping his nose playfully. "I gained a stone that time you slugged Jeremy Carson in front of my parents because you thought he'd said something rude to me."

"I was very sorry," Rhys agrees, grinning a bit.

"I remember," Gwen says, and even in her anxiety over Ianto, she can feel her muscles slowly starting to relax for the first time since she heard the word "Torchwood." They'd been slowly unfurling from the time she'd walked Rhys home from the Hub. She'd forgotten how easy it could be when there weren't lies hovering all around them, how much she loved this man and how helpful and funny and kind he was, if only she could relax enough to appreciate it.

"I love you," she says, leaning over and kissing him. "I do. So bloody much."

"I love you too, you ridiculous woman," Rhys says. He kisses her back, cradling her cheek. "Now go talk to your mate."

Gwen kisses him one last time and collects her jacket and purse, heading back out to Ianto's flat.

***

She tries Ianto's mobile while she's waiting for the takeaway, but she's not entirely surprised when it rings to voicemail. She didn't honestly think that after a day of avoidance he'd suddenly change his tune, but she had to try. She takes the curry and stops to buy the kind of pinot that he likes before letting herself into his building. She doesn't mind using the key to get into building itself, but when confronted with the door to his flat, she steels herself and knocks.

There's no answer, much as she expected.

She knocks again, and calls out, "Ianto! Ianto, it's Gwen. I've brought you some dinner."

Still no answer.

She knocks again.

"I've got you green curry," Gwen says. "And that wine you like."

She knocks again.

"And samosas! I know you love samosas!"

She goes to knock again, but the door swings open.

"You're not going to stop," Ianto says, leaning against the door frame and glaring.

"Nope," she says, forcing a cheerful smile. He looks horrible--hair in disarray, tie missing, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She pushes past him and into his flat. "I've brought you dinner."

"I don't need dinner," he mutters. "I can get my own, thank you very much."

"What are you having, then?" she asks.

"Scotch," he says, slamming the door and stomping past her to the couch. The aforementioned bottle of Scotch is open on the coffee table. There's not even a glass next to it. It's not even very good Scotch.

"Ianto," she says, following him to the couch, bags still clutched in her hands. "I'm so sorry. I didn't... you must know I wasn't talking about--it had nothing to do with you and Jack."

Ianto is glaring at her, arms crossed, face mutinous.

"Not everything is about bloody Jack Harkness," he mutters between clenched teeth.

"And this _wasn't_ ," Gwen insists. She sits on the couch next to him and he slides away, refusing to look at her. Apparently this combination of drunk and angry leaves him with the temperament of a teenager. "I would never presume that--you and Jack, it's not what I was--" It was so much easier saying this to Rhys. Her words are muddled now. Her palms are sweating at the thought of mucking this up further, of losing Ianto so soon after she found him. "With Rhys, it's important because--well, it's different, having someone on the outside. Jack and you and everyone--I'm supposed to keep things with Rhys steady, we're supposed to be married and I wasn't even able to talk to him about this huge part of my life. And now I can."

"Oh yes," Ianto says, and she's never heard him sound so bitter. "Because you had no one to bloody talk to before now."

Looking at Ianto, curled up on his sofa, drunk and quiet and glaring at her with those fathomless eyes, it hits her so hard she nearly staggers. It's really _not_ about Jack. It was never about Jack, not really, because how could Ianto ever even try to compare the complex give-and-take dance that he and Jack share with the simple life she lives with Rhys? No, it's not about Jack and Ianto at all. It's about Ianto and her.

"Oh, sweetheart," she says softly. "I'm not going anywhere."

She slides across the couch and gathers him into her arms, pulls him close and holds him steady, even as he makes token protests. He mumbles vaguely about not being a child and not being drunk enough to snog her, but his arms tighten around her back and she feels his breath against her neck as he rests his head on her shoulder.

"You're my best friend, you idiot," she whispers. "Nothing's going to change that. You have to believe that."

Something in him shifts and Ianto lets Gwen take his weight. His face is still twisted into a pout, but the anger's gone, and the tension.

"I'm bloody starving," he mumbles. "Where's the food?"

Gwen laughs and lets him go, reaching back to snag the takeaway bag.

"Curry," she says. "From the place you like."

He's already reaching inside and pulling out the cartons, opening the samosas.

"Thanks," he says, not looking at her. "It wasn't very good Scotch."

Gwen smiles. She knows that Ianto-speak for _You're forgiven._

***

"They like this one," Gwen says, clicking on a window in Ianto's web browser. She pauses, then clicks another. "I like this one."

She's still sitting on Ianto's couch, with his laptop propped on the coffee table. Ianto is lying on the couch with his head on her thigh. It's possible he's drunker than she's ever seen him, but at least he's smiling now, as she pets his hair.

"Like your choice better," he says. "The other one's a bit..." He waves his hand idly. "For a wedding, I mean. 'Specially for the bride."

"That's what I said," Gwen says. "But I do look bloody fabulous in it."

"You'd look bloody fabulous in a negligee. Doesn't mean you should wear it to your wedding," Ianto says. Gwen giggles. Perhaps she's had her share of the wine as well.

Behind them, she hears a key turning in the lock and she laughs again.

"You gave him a _key_?" she asks.

"Shut it," Ianto says, hiding his face in her thigh.

"A key!" she crows, just as Jack walks in. "He has a key!"

"Quiet, you," Ianto mutters.

"Well, this is cozy," Jack says. He crosses to the couch and grins at them, hands on his hips.

"You shut up as well," Ianto says. "Go inside and take off your trousers. I'll be in in a mo."

Jack raises his eyebrows and shoots Gwen an amused look. She can't help but giggle again in response. It's a bit hard to stop giggling, actually. Definitely the wine.

"Hello to you too," Jack says. "Glad to see you two are getting along again."

"Trousers--off. Bedroom," Ianto says. He scrambles to sit up and nearly beans Gwen in the side of the head in the process. He points sternly at the bedroom, and Jack rolls his eyes.

"I think you're a little too drunk for this to turn out the way you think it's going to turn out," Jack says. Ianto jabs his finger towards the bedroom again and Jack holds his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say. Lovely to see you, Ms. Cooper."

"You as well, Captain," she says, and giggles some more as Jack bows gracefully and then disappears into Ianto's bedroom. "He has a key!" she says to Ianto, smacking his arm. "You didn't tell me that!"

"He's always had a key," Ianto says. He's struggling to get to his feet without knocking over the takeaway cartons or wine glasses. He's mostly winning the battle, but Gwen's a bit worried that the green curry dribbling over the one up-ended carton will probably stain the rug. "He has keys to all our... you know..." He gestures. "Flats. Right. Flats. But I just... told him he could use mine if he wanted." He looks away, but he's smiling, embarrassed and pleased. "I was going to tell you but then...." Another gesture and Gwen nods. That gesture means 'And then you were a twat and then I was a twat.'

"I'm glad," Gwen says, and she feels her eyes becoming wet. She blames it on the wine. "I'm so glad, sweetheart. Never think that I'm not."

Ianto freezes. His face is suddenly grave. "I know," he says. "I would never--" He must be drunk, because he fumbles back over the cartons and grabs her hand. "I don't worry. Not about that."

"Good," Gwen says. Jack is a nebulous thing in her life. He's a nebulous thing in Ianto's life, too, but different. She likes that about Jack, that he can be so many different things to so many different people. She's glad that Ianto understands that. She really shouldn't have doubted it. "I love you," she says, impulsively. She's sure he'll blame it on the wine tomorrow, but it's true. It's been true for months, now. "You know that?"

Ianto nods, looking at the floor, but he doesn't let go of her hand. "I... don't really have any other friends," he says. It's as close to an admission of affection as she's ever likely to get, and she recognizes that.

"You don't need any," Gwen assures him. "You have me."

He looks up and they lock eyes. Gwen wants to hug him, but she's afraid he'll bolt if she moves too quickly. She's got to train him out of that, one of these days.

"I'm getting pretty bored in here," Jack shouts from the bedroom, and the stillness of the moment is gone. Gwen laughs and Ianto trips over a combination of the takeaway cartons and his own feet.

"I'm coming!" Ianto shouts back.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Gwen says. "I'll call a cab."

"Good," Ianto says. "Um. Thanks for dinner."

"You're welcome, love," Gwen says. She leans forward and kisses his cheek. "Have a good night."

She lets herself out and locks the door behind her on Jack and Ianto's shouted conversation ( _"There's curry on the carpet!" "It'll keep until tomorrow. Come to bed before you pass out." "I'm not that drun--ugh." "You stepped in the curry, didn't you?"_ ). She's smiling, and it's not just the wine. She's got the dream job she never realized she wanted, she has a wonderful fiance she can rely on, and she's got a best friend to share it with. There's nothing else she could ask for. There's nothing else she could want.


End file.
